


A Gathering of Foxes

by Varewulf



Category: Fate Extella, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Konohana Kitan
Genre: Attempts at humour, Crossover, F/F, Fluff, Yuri, series of short scenes, sorry I didn't feel like tagging the relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 20:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12565624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: The girls from Fate Extella: Nero, Tamamo, Altera, Artoria, Medusa, and Elizabeth, all show up at the Konohanatei inn to work.Just an idea that spawned from the observation that Artoria and Kiri look quite similar.Each little idea that came from that became a scene of its own, rather than a fully connecting story.





	A Gathering of Foxes

**Author's Note:**

> An idea I've had for a little while, but not gotten around to until now: Fate Extella characters working at Konohana Kitan's Konohanatei inn!   
> Unlike the Symphogear crossover, this is the actual characters transferred over, not a re-imagining of how they'd fit into that world. Blame magic. A wizard did it. Maybe you know her name.   
> Oh, and I'm going with with young Altera, in the age 10-12 range. I don't trust my skill at writing Hero-Altera.   
> Which canon am I going with? Don't worry about it.

In a burst of flower petals, six figures appear outside of the Konohanatei inn. All dressed in kimonos: One red, two blue, one white, one purple, and one pink. And all of them...

"Mu. Why am I also a fox?" Nero asks in a surly tone.

"That's part of the magic that brought us here. We all have to be kitsune. I already explained this," an impatient Tamamo answers.

"You know I zone out when you talk for too long, Caster," Nero says as if that should be self-evident.

Tamamo's tail bristles. "You're such a worthless woman. And it's Tamamo here!" she growls. She has already gone over this, and is fully aware that Nero is probably being a pain on purpose. "Our classes don't apply here, and calling each other by them will just confuse the guests and staff. So I'm Tamamo." She places a hand on her own chest, before pointing at each of the others in turn. "You're Nero-san. Altera. Artoria-san. Medusa-san. ... Elizabeth."

"Hey, why did you pause before my name?!" Elizabeth sounds immediately offended.

"Just wondering why I brought you along. Oh, right! You have maid experience!" Tamamo says cheerfully.

"Oohhhhhh! If I still had my horns, I'd gore you!" Elizabeth hisses.

Meanwhile Artoria is watching the arguing with an expression showing how awkward she finds this. Medusa doesn't seem too bothered by any of it. Altera looks mesmerised, gazing at everyone's ears and tails. She gently reaches around and grabs her own, giving it some experimental pats. So soft.

"With that cleared up, come along!" Tamamo says, pretending she didn't hear Elizabeth. "I'll introduce you to the owner. We go way back."

Nero stubbornly heads to the front to walk alongside Tamamo, even though she doesn't know where they're going. Artoria and Medusa sensibly follow behind. Elizabeth grumbles for a bit before she starts to go, then notices Altera is still petting her own tail. While tempted to leave her behind, with a sigh she walks over to her.

"Come on, the rest are leaving," Elizabeth says to Altera.

"Huh?" Altera looks up. "Oh, right..." she says, and hurries to catch up.

Elizabeth goes last. She knows Tamamo will give her a hard time regardless of what she does, so she might as well do what she wants. Looking at Altera makes her wonder: Did this girl really used to be a fearsome warlord?

\---

"Okami!" Tamamo calls out.

"Tamamo! There you are. Still up to your old tricks?" Okami replies, setting down the paper she was reading.

"No way, I'm 100% a respectable wife now!" Tamamo declares proudly.

Okami doesn't look like she'll believe that quite so easily. "So these are the girls you brought?" she asks, rather than picking at Tamamo's bold claims right now.

"Yes! Over there's Elizabeth, next to her is Altera, then Medusa-san, Artoria-san, and-" That's how far Tamamo gets before...

"Umu! Emperor Nero Claudius! I will not be outdone! You shall see! I shall outfox you all! None can outshine Roma's glory!" Nero delivers her bold introduction while standing as tall as she is able. They wouldn't give her shoes with heels, so that's not quite as tall as she is used to. She is confident her proud bearing will get the point the across. Nodding with self-satisfaction she decrees: "Umu. I shall allow you to touch my tail."

Okami stares at her for a moment, before looking over the others. Pausing just an instant on Artoria, who gives her a curious look in return. "Well, you know them best," she says, looking back at Tamamo. "I'll let you decide how to pair them up, then I'll assign someone to show them what to do. We still have a few hours before any new guests show up."

Tamamo thinks it over. As much as she is loathe to do so, someone has to keep an eye on the foul Roman. And none present is better suited for the task, so: "Nero-san is with me. Artoria-san, please go with Elizabeth." Artoria has the discipline, and Elizabeth has some semblance of skill, so maybe together they can form a passable team. "And Medusa-san, could you look after... Altera?" Wait, where did she go? Then Tamamo spots the girl petting Nero's tail.

Noticing that she was spoken to, Altera looks at Tamamo, who's giving her a 'what are you doing' look. "She said I could," Altera says, then hugs the tail. So soft.

Tamomo sighs. Permission by 'imperial decree'. As if there wasn't already enough of that back home. Nero looks quite pleased by the attention, as usual. "Yes, but could you please go stand by Medusa-san? We're getting ready to start," Tamamo says as kindly as she can. She might not be great with kids, but on her Husband's honour she would learn. Altera complies, even if she looks a little unhappy about it.

Okami recognises that they're done. "Kiri, I know you're there, so you might as well come out and do the assignments." A kitsune in a dark blue kimono steps out, holding a pipe. The six fox-servants all look at her, and she looks a lot like...

"Artoria! I didn't know you were already here," Nero says brightly. Kiri pauses, confused.

"No, I'm here," Artoria says, also confused by this situation.

"How long have you been here? When did you start to smoke?" Nero asks, seemingly oblivious to what the actual Artoria said.

"Nero, that's not me," Artoria says, stepping closer to the eternally excited emperor.

Nero turns her head to look at Artoria. "Umu. Of course it's you," she says, right to Artoria's face, and pats her on the head.

"But I'm here," Artoria insists. Following Nero's trains of thought could be difficult at the best of times, but surely even she can see that much.

"Umu umu. Well, you know how hard it can be to keep track of how many of you there are," Nero says as if that's completely natural.

Artoria blinks at Nero, lost for words. "... no?" the King of Knights says helplessly.

However, Kiri and Artoria turn to regard each other for a moment. _It really is like looking in a mirror_ , they both think.

\---

Five figures huddle by a nearby corner, and peek around it to get a look at the new arrivals. They can't really hear what they're saying from here, except for the loud one in red.

"They look odd," Ren says. She doesn't feel comfortable with adding so many new girls at once. Especially when Kiri has told them it would just be for a week. Seems very irresponsible.

"They look cute," Yuzu says, marvel in her voice. She, for one, is excited about the idea of new friends. Sakura nods silently.

"Indeed," Natsume agrees, earning an elbow in the side from Ren. "Oof... I didn't mean it like that."

Satsuki is mostly thinking about how it's going to be a pain to train them. Most of them seem like adults though, so maybe they'll be easier to deal with. So long as she doesn't have to deal with the red one. That might fray her nerves beyond repair.

"Hey, you five! Come out!" Kiri raises her voice, and shoots a pointed look towards where the five of them thought they were out of sight. A little embarrassed they all scramble over. Kiri wastes no time: "Satsuki. You and Yuzu go with Medusa and Altera-chan." Satsuki suppresses a sigh of relief. Yuzu immediately crouches down to say hi to Altera. "Natsume, you're with Artoria and Elizabeth." Natsume nods, and heads over to the two. It doesn't escape Ren's notice that Elizabeth blushes a little. Though wait, that means... "Ren, you're with Nero and Tamamo."

"Eh?" The sound escapes Ren before she can stop herself. She really doesn't want those two, but it's not like she can ask to trade in front of the newbies. She shuffles over to them. Well, if anyone can make these two work properly, it would be her. It's not like she can help being the best suited for the job.

"Okay, everyone!" Kiri raises her voice to cut through the chatter, and get everyone's attention. "Show them the ropes, and don't go easy on them. We have at most three hours until the first guests arrive. Sakura and I will manage the current guests until then, but you had all better be ready by then."

"Understood!"

\---

Managing Nero and Tamamo is much easier said than done. First of all they are both incredibly stubborn, and second of all everything turns into a contest between them. Ren is starting wonder which god she offended to deserve this. Still, maybe their competitive streak can be exploited.

"So that's how you prepare a room," she says to both of them after giving them a demonstration. They got to help out, but under her strict supervision. Though whether or not they listened is a different matter. "Now I'll give you both a room to prepare on your own, and I'll come grade you in 15 minutes." That seems to do the trick, as they both shoot each other confident looks. Hopefully they'll at least do a good enough job that it won't take long to clean up what they miss.

"Umu. The battle is on. Roma shan't fall this day!" Nero declares with utmost self-confidence. Ren isn't sure what exactly that means.

"Big words. I'll prove to you who's the better wife," Tamamo says. Her confidence is also supreme, just less boisterous than Nero's.

 _Better wife?_ Ren ponders. So they're both married, then. Though why is it important which of them is better at it? Still, she understands the desire to become a good wife. "If you have any questions, I'll be in this room." They both nod, then hop to it. Having them work in opposition seems to work better than asking them to cooperate. Hopefully it will also produce results. Maybe giving them just 15 minutes is a bit tight for their first time, but they'll have to learn to do it faster eventually anyway.

Once she's done preparing her room, she takes a quick breather while waiting for the time to pass. She starts to get a little anxious about how they might be doing, questioning whether it was actually wise to let them go alone so soon.

"Okay, time's up!" Ren declares loudly as she steps into the hallway. She looks into Nero's room first, and her eyes go wide. Red flower petals, everywhere. Rose petals? Where did they all come from? Had a storm blown through here? "W-what is this?!" she asks incredulously.

Nero looks proud of her work. "My signature, as the Emperor of Roses! Umu. You are impressed." That sounds more like a statement than a question.

"No!" Ren doesn't know where they all came from, but... "Get all of those out of there, you can't have a guest walk in on something like this! Rooms have to look simple and presentable." Nero pouts, but Ren is not swayed. "Do it. I will only grade the rest of your work once the petals are gone, but you're getting a dock in your score for this." Ren hates having to raise her voice, but if they're going to be this impossible she has no choice.

Moving over to Tamamo's room, she is greeted by another unfortunate sight. "I said time's up," she says, and Tamamo jumps.

"Oh! Er... I thought you'd take longer with Nero-san's- I mean, I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect," Tamamo says, though Ren doesn't feel like her tone sounds entirely honest.

Ren moves into the room, and starts looking around. At least there aren't any flower petals. "Not bad, not bad..." she mutters under her breath, then notices something. "W-w-wha-why have you put those up?" On the table stands a small statue in an obscene pose and state of dress, and she also sees some pictures have been hung. More obscene art. What are those people even doing?

"Beautiful, aren't they? My Husband has always praised my taste in decorating, so I figured I'd improve things." Tamamo also sounds proud of her work, but Ren is horrified. She doesn't want to think about what Tamamo and her husband do in their own home, but this is not acceptable around here.

"No no no, no decorating," Ren says firmly. "They have to go. This would ruin Konohanatei's reputation." What is wrong with these people?

"But..." Tamamo tries to object.

"We can ask Okami if you don't take my word for it," Ren says as an obvious threat. That seems to get Tamamo to back down. "Also... you're not done, are you?"

"I-I wanted to make sure I was thorough, and... lost track of time..." Tamamo sounds very reluctant to admit it, but at least she does so.

Ren sighs, and checks quickly. At least there's not a lot left. "Finish up while I go check back on Nero. And throw those out! No decorating!" She doesn't care if this is Okami's friend, there's no way any of them will be allowed to tarnish Konohanatei's reputation. At least they've learned better now. Hopefully.

Well, Nero has cleaned up all the petals, and they're in a bucket. Where had the bucket come from? It doesn't look like a Konohanatei bucket. Maybe it would be better for Ren's health to stop questioning all the weird things that were with these two, but seriously who the hell are they?

The room might not be as thorough as Tamamo's, but it's passable. And more importantly it was finished on time. She makes the final check of Tamamo's room after letting her finish, then brings them both out to declare her results.

"Neither of you get top marks, as you both messed up the rooms of your own accord, but at least Nero technically finished on time, so she wins this time," Ren says, and the gloating from Nero starts immediately.

"Fufufu, umu! Caster has been a fox all of her life, yet I am already better than her. Everything comes natural to one of my genius!" Nero declares proudly, and Tamamo shoots her a dirty look.

"I told you to call me Tamamo here, Nero-san," Tamamo hisses, which Nero doesn't seem the least bit fazed by. Ren has no idea what the two of them are on about.

"You shall praise my foxiness! Note how my tail is extra fluffy," Nero says, waving said tail about. "I shall allow you to pet it," she says to Ren, who takes a step backwards.

"I'm good... anyways! Onto the next rooms. Let's see what you have learned," Ren says, hoping they have indeed learned.

\---

"This is the dining hall," Natsume says, leading Elizabeth and Artoria inside. "There tends to be a lot of people who gather here for dinner and drinks almost every night, so we need to make sure it's ready." While they had cleaned out the worst of it last night, it was much easier to see anything they'd missed in the natural light of day. And they needed to make sure everything was laid out and in its place.

"Reminds me of the one in that stupid fo- ehem, in Tamamo's castle," Elizabeth quickly corrects herself, remembering that everyone's a fox here.

Natsume gives her a strange look, but doesn't comment beyond that. In a way it makes sense that a friend of Okami's would have a castle, though why would such a person come here to work?

"So what are we supposed to do?" Artoria asks, gazing out over the tables. She too can remember similar halls in her past, though with taller tables involved.

"Well..." Natsume thinks it over. "You look strong, so why don't you help me carry in more food for the kitchen?" she asks of Artoria, who nods. "Elizabeth, can you start by checking all the lights? There's a step ladder in the back there." It's bad form to have one of them burn out during dinner.

"Hmph... if I had my wings I wouldn't need a ladder..." Elizabeth murmurs.

"What was that?" Natsume asks. She had heard Elizabeth say something, but couldn't quite make it out.

"Oh, n-nothing," Elizabeth says quickly, and hurries off to get the ladder. She wonders if there's some way to get her dragon features back. This fuzzy fox stuff doesn't feel like it fits her. As well as her ears not being where they're meant to be. It's weird!

 _Though maybe foxes aren't all bad_ , she thinks as she starts going from lamp to lamp. This Natsume certainly has... something to her. Elizabeth hasn't really felt something like this too often. Maybe for the little squirrel. A desire to bite that goes beyond her usual instinct. While the little squirrel is taken, maybe Natsume would be interested in... ack! Elizabeth gets so preoccupied with her thoughts that she nearly loses her balance. Just barely manages to steady herself in time.

That's the last of the lights, so what now? Natsume and Artoria aren't back yet, so she has the option to slack off for a little bit. That's not going to be a way to impress Natsume, though. Time to take some initiative! The stupid fox has made her clean the castle enough times after all, so she can figure out something to do. Then she notices the stage.

"How is it going, Elizabeth?" Natsume asks as she comes back into the room shortly after. Then notices she can't see Elizabeth anywhere. "Elizabeth?" she calls out.

"I'm up here!" Elizabeth calls back, and looking up at the stage Natsume can see her tail wave about as she fusses about up there. Is she cleaning the stage?

Natsume walks closer. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"This stage is amazing!" Elizabeth declares, in the process of checking out everything. "I mean, it could use some spotlights, and some pyrotechnics maybe, but it's still pretty great. I could totally hold a concert up here!" She sounds quite excited about the prospect.

Natsume doesn't really understand everything Elizabeth is saying, but she gathers one thing from it all. "You're a musician, Elizabeth?" she asks.

Elizabeth stands up straight, and points to the sky. Well, the ceiling. "I'm an idol! A star for everyone to look up to!" she boasts.

"Er... okay?" Natsume again feels a little lost. She's not entirely up on the trends of the outside world, but maybe Ren knows about this.

"You have to let me do a concert. I'll sing for the guests tonight," Elizabeth says eagerly. You certainly can't fault her enthusiasm.

Before Natsume can answer, Artoria is there to tug on her sleeve. "I recommend dissuading her from this course of action," she warns, and she sounds dead serious.

Natsume looks curiously at Artoria. "Eh? Why?" she asks.

"Elizabeth's singing is... not for the unprepared, or faint of heart," Artoria says as diplomatically as she can. "Besides, her style of music probably doesn't fit this establishment."

All of this just piques Natsume's curiosity. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she says to Artoria, who really doesn't seem equally convinced. Natsume looks back at Elizabeth. "I'll ask Okami, and see what she thinks. Personally I think it sounds like fun!"

Elizabeth bounces with joy. "Maybe I can get Nero to sing with me," she says excitedly.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Artoria says, before wandering off to continue the task she was given.

Natsume doesn't see the problem. Even if Elizabeth's a bad singer, surely it will still be funny. "Now come on, we have more work to do," she says to the self-proclaimed idol.

\---

"Altera, please put that down," Medusa says a little uneasily.

"But I can destroy the dirt," Altera replies, not seeing the problem of her having turned what used to a broom into the Sword of Mars.

Yuzu has no idea what just happened, or what that strange sword is, but she recognises the danger it might pose. "Altera-chan," she says, getting Altera's attention. "If you put that down, I'll scritch your ears as a reward."

Altera's mouth makes an 'o' shape. "Okay," she says, and puts the Sword of Mars onto the ground, where it turns back into a broom soon enough. She heads over to Yuzu for her reward, and both Medusa and Yuzu sigh with relief. Medusa shoots Yuzu a smile to say 'well done', and picks up the broom. And makes a mental note to not let Altera handle anything that could resemble a sword.

Satsuki comes around the corner, and just sees Yuzu scritching Altera's ears. Blissfully unaware of what just transpired. "Hey, why are you just playing around?" she asks with a note of irritation.

"Oh... um..." Yuzu isn't sure how she would go about trying to explain what just happened. She doesn't quite understand it herself after all. It's not a kind of magic she's seen before.

"Whatever," Satsuki says. "Kiri said there's a guest incoming."

"Already?" Yuzu asks, and ruffles Altera's hair a little before she straightens up. It's about half an hour earlier than they had expected.

"Yeah. She wants us to welcome them. Come on," Satsuki says, and turns around without waiting.

"Should we come too?" Medusa asks.

Yuzu nods. "It might be something they expect you to do on your own eventually," she says, and takes Altera's hand. Satsuki may not be great with kids, but Yuzu wouldn't mind having one this cute. Assuming no swords are involved.

From the entrance they can see the guest approaching. It looks like a fox woman, with long brown hair, and wearing an elegant purple kimono. They leave Medusa and Altera to hang back and watch from out of sight.

"Welcome, honoured guest," Satsuki says, and both her and Yuzu bow. "Do you have a reservation?" she asks.

"Ah, no, sorry," the woman says. She sounds a little embarrassed. "I just thought I'd come and see how my wives and daughter are doing."

"Wives?" Satsuki can't stop herself from asking in slight shock.

"Daughter?" Yuzu chimes in. Her expression has perked up, and she'd like to know more.

"Mama!" Altera comes running over straight at the woman, and hugs her.

Satsuki looks rather startled, while Yuzu makes an 'ooohhhh' sound. So that's Altera's mother? They don't look very much alike, though. Yuzu would like to ask so many things.

"There you are, Altera," the woman says and pats Altera's head. "Are you having fun?" she asks.

Altera nods before looking up. "Hey mama, I've learned that fluffy fluff is good civilisation," she says, which further confuses both Satsuki and Yuzu.

"That's good," the woman says, as if she sees nothing strange with that statement. Then she looks back at Satsuki and Yuzu. "Thank you for taking care of Altera. May I come inside?" she asks.

"Huh? Yes, of course," Satsuki scrambles to recover. "By all means," she says, and starts leading their strange new guest inside. Though they don't get far before...

"Husband!"

"Praetor!"

Both Tamamo and Nero come running over. It's impressive they're able to move that fast in those clothes.

"Husband?!" Yuzu exclaims with a gasp.

"Praetor?" Satsuki repeats in a confused manner. What are these people?

"I've missed you so much," Tamamo says dramatically, latching onto one of the woman's arms.

"I've missed you more," Nero says, latching onto the other.

"It's only been a few hours," Hakuno says with a sigh. "Have you behaved, at least?" she asks them.

"Of course!" Tamamo says cheerfully.

"I always behave!" Nero asserts smugly, which earns her a doubting look from both Tamamo and her spouse.

Hakuno turns her attention back to Satsuki and Yuzu. "Have they behaved?" she asks them earnestly.

They look at each other, unsure how to answer. Yuzu takes the initiative. "W-we don't know, they've been training with Ren-chan," she says. Before Hakuno can ask anything further, a voice rings out.

"Hey, where did you two go?" Ren calls out as she comes running, then screeches to a halt as she sees the scene. Why are there so many people here? Is that a guest? Why are Nero and Tamamo clinging to her? Had she heard Ren yelling?

"I guess that answers that," Hakuno says with another sigh. "I told you to play nice, didn't I?" she chides both of her wives.

"But when I could tell you were coming, I had to rush to your side, Husband," Tamamo says with utter devotion. "It is my duty."

"Umu," Nero agrees. Not that she wants Tamamo to rush to Hakuno's side, but she understands the sentiment.

"I hope they haven't been causing you trouble," Hakuno says to Ren, while giving her a sympathetic look.

It takes Ren a moment to realise that was directed at her. "Oh, n-not at all," she says, not sure what else to say. That's Tamamo's husband? Ren should have known better than to make assumptions, but this had taken her by surprise. But then is Nero also... is that why the two of them are so competitive?

"I suppose I should introduce myself," Hakuno says. "I'm Kishinami Hakuno. I'm Nero and Tamamo's Mas- ah, I suppose spouse is a more correct term now." She smiles at them all.

No one really knows how to respond, but before they can figure it out...

"Now get back to work, you two," Hakuno says to her wives. "This was your idea, Tamamo, so don't you dare slack off. And both of you: behave." She winks, and flashes them a grin.

"Yes!"

"Umu!"

**Author's Note:**

> Now if I come up with ideas for enough scenes, I might do a part 2 of this. But this is all I have for now.


End file.
